


Fictive

by Michevalier



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Angst, AsoKyo, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, Infectshipping, Kinda, Pre-Canon, felt like writing it for a looong time lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-05 13:49:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17920004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michevalier/pseuds/Michevalier
Summary: Their "marriage" was just the best way to take that child under their wing... but how come it has been lasting for so long?





	Fictive

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, my sweet, sweet Hanoi family head-canon. Enjoy lol

Captived by colorful diversity of Den City's evening lights, Aso completely lost count how many cigarettes were already piling up in the ashtray. The man only kept breathing out bitterish smoke, his thoughts or, rather, a total mess in their stead was all but smoky. He was so submerged into his tobacco stenched lack of thoughts that he didn't immediately noticed the balcony door being slid open and closed and heels clanking, approaching him from behind.

The owner of these high-heeled shoes was no one other than Taki Kyoko. She didn't say a word as she stood next to Aso and, watching the same dazzling city lights, remained in speechless state right until the cigarette in the man's fingers smoldered enough to burn his fingertips any moment.

"How is he?" Aso sighed heavily when the woman promptly, before any harm could be caused, threw his cigarette off onto the ashtray.

"Sleeping," Kyoko answered, her own face pale from exhaustion. "I feel so terrible over that I have to mix sleeping pills in his meals, but otherwise it is simply impossible to put him to bed."

This wasn't an exaggeration. For the past half of the month little Kogami Ryoken barely had any proper and peaceful rest. And it was making their blood freeze as they would often spot the boy aimlessly wandering around the house even after bedtime, at times sitting, not moving akin to a marble statue, in his father's study, at times staring at the glittering lights of Stardust Road in dead silence.

"How did we end up like this..?" Aso whispered a question not exactly directed at Kyoko but their life itself.

It was terrifying how much they got used to living as if there were deadly sharp swords hanging on thin threads right above their heads... yeah, that was the best way to describe existence of criminals, of scoundrels who commited unforgivable crimes.

They were involved in one big inhuman experiment... it was truly unthinkable how did they not end up being caught and confined by SOL like their supervisor, Dr. Kogami did. Things took unexpected turn one day when someone anonymous snitched on them to the company's higher-ups. But then again, why weren't official authorities involved fully, how they should have been? Little kids being kidnapped and put through... a living nightmare would have been logically expected to become a national scandal, but it seemed as if SOL quickly decided to sweep everything under the rug. Neither of Kogami's assistants, including Aso and Kyoko, during what was called "Hanoi Project" weren't caught. Was it because on that very day Dr. Kogami was alone at the facility? And yet, why was SOL clearly not interested in capturing others? After all this time?

"Apparently..." Kyoko said quietly, trying her hardest to connect the missing dots inside her thoughts. "Kogami-sensei never gave us away."

And yet both of them felt as if heavy dark clouds were gradually gathering above their heads, every new day working for SOL Technologies seemed like balancing on a thin blade above abyss... no wonder that eventually Kyoko, Aso and their associate, Dr. Genome, would resign one by one for good.

Kyoko and Aso were looking at the night sky, so clear unlike ideas for their future which consisted of nothing but thick haze.

"So," Aso exhaled some smoke, "what are we going to do from now on."

"Keep on surviving this rollercoaster that our lives are," Kyoko chuckled though laughing at this was the last thing she was in mood to do, and soon the corners of her lips dropped. "More importantly... What will happen to him now?"

"Hmm?" Aso caught a glimmer of serious concern in her eyes.

"Ryoken," Kyoko gave him a look so stern and serious that ones blood could have been easily frozen with it. "You do realize he is left all alone in this world, don't you?"

"Is he?" the man frowned. "Hasn't he got any relatives to take care of him?"

"As far as I know, none..."

Kyoko dropped her gaze, not letting Aso know just yet what kind of a world-shaking clash of rationality and emotionality was going on in her head, what sort of a wild whirlpool was rising up in her soul. The woman was thinking of a hundred of possible ways, scenarios, analyzed each and every outcome and consequence. It felt almost like eternity before she gave herself a nod and dared to meet Aso's eyes with the most unwavering look.

"Let's get married."

Kyoko didn't even nearly estimate how abruptly she turned the man's life upside down.

Aso stumbled back, he inhaled so much smoke at once that it naturally ended up in a round of whooping cough, letting his cigarette fall out of his mouth.

"W-wha... What did you..."

"I said what you clearly heard," there was no shadow of a joke in Kyoko's expression. "You and I. Married. As quickly as possible if you don't mind."

Aso shook his head, sincerely hoping he misheard all this, but no, his ears weren't playing tricks on him.

"It's..."

"Look," Kyoko sighed and, having folded her arms, looked to the side, "I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but if we want to do something for preventing Ryoken from ending up in some god-knows-what-and-where orphanage, we should act fast."

"But," confused more than ever in his life, Aso scratched his head, "what in the world does it have to do with us getting..."

"It does!" Kyoko glared back at him, getting annoyed at him being so slowpoke. "Marital status is very important when applying to become a child's guardian. It's almost impossible to get a permission if you're single. Married couples always have the upper hand in situations like this."

"Hold on," Aso took a deep breath, finally calming himself. "So you're seriously suggesting us becoming a _spouse_?"

"It's only fictive," Kyoko shrugged. "Our sole goal is to get a custody of Ryoken. You may do as you wish afterwards."

"This is," the man chuckled a bit nervously, suddenly craving so bad for yet another cigarette, "not what I was expected."

"We owe this one to Sensei," Kyoko said sternly. "If it wasn't for him, we would have been behind bars right now. This is the least we can do to repay him."

The woman sighed heavily, her thoughts inevitably flowing towards little Ryoken.

"Besides... this boy needs a family first and foremost."

_~~~_

"Who would have thought," Genome cackled, more than amused at the sight of the two patiently waiting their turn to register themselves as husband and wife. "Accept my sincere congratulations."

"We already did," Aso looked more annoyed with every second. "For the twenty first time since this morning."

"Come on, mate," Genome ignored his mood and patted his shoulder. "It's the most happy day of your life, no?"

"Genome, stop teasing him," Kyoko yawned when Aso slapped his comrade's hand away.

"Maybe you should have proposed to him instead?" the "happy groom" reached for the pocket on his jacket, but discovered no cigarettes left.

"He's not my type," the "bride" giggled, inevitably coloring her "future husband"s cheeks pink.

"So unfair," Genome sniffled and brushed away imaginary teardrop, but then his grin shone brighter than before as he winked. "Anyway, any plans for honeymoon?"

"For the last time," Aso rubbed his temples, trying to relax, "we are doing this only for the sake of passing for a suitable couple to take a custody of Ryoken."

There was a moment of silence as Genome's face gradually dropped all buffoonery.

"Are you two sure about this?" he asked, adjusting his glasses. "You're basically going to become the kid's parents. The responsibility you're about to embrace is huge."

"I am," Kyoko looked at him with eyes filled to the brim with nothing but absolute determination, but then she lowered her gaze a bit, a faint shadow of awkwardness was there behind her smile. "Even though I never expected my wedding to be like this."

"No white dress, limos and all this bridal hoopla," Genome noted not without slight amusement as he couldn't help finding something adorable at Kyoko's simple light green sundress.

"Would _you_ want all that?" Aso asked not without a bit of scepticism.

"Oh no," Genome raised his hands and shook his head, laughing. "I'm way more comfortable with my role of that one weird, forever-bachelor uncle."

Aso sighed wearily and chose to remain silent for the rest of the waiting time, refusing to look at his two comrades properly.

"Just so you know," he shuddered slightly when Kyoko suddenly placed her hand on top of his and spoke in a quiet voice, "I am just as anxious as you are. But there is no going back. We have no moral right to turn back now. If anything, we are not the ones whose lives took a sharp turn."

Blue eyes devoid of a single spark of light resurfaced from the depth of his consciousness and made his heart ache, filling it with tons of shame for his faintheartedness.

"You're right," Aso gave his inner self a harsh, reprimanding slap while in reality he squeezed Kyoko's hand tighter.

"It's gonna be okay," she laced her fingers with his, making his heart skip a surprised beat.

"O-oh, right," all of a sudden he wasn't able to hold back a tiny smile as he got up and helped his "bride" to do the same. "Well then..." he took a pause to breathe in. "Let's go?"

_~~~_

"So you're like my mom and dad now?" Ryoken asked in more than disinterested tone.

"We are," Aso and Kyoko tried their hardest not to show how much this emptiness in the boy's eyes was making them feel utterly helplessly.

"Nice."

That was everything Ryoken said before hiding, curling into a foetus position as he wrapped himself with blanket as if he was inside a cocoon.

"Are you hungry?" Aso asked carefully, thinking back to the barely touched plate of the tastiest and most favourite boy's food which Kyoko did her best to make. "Is there anything you want to dri..."

"It's fine," came a stifled response.

"Aren't you hot? This blanket might be too thick," Kyoko reached with the intention of changing it for a lighter one.

"It's fine!" an irritated yell made the woman's hand freeze halfway as if she was struck with a sudden charge of electricity.

And yet it didn't prevent Kyoko from finding what she thought was Ryoken's shoulder and gently pat it. The boy got clearly tense and bundled up further into his blanket, mumbling something incoherent.

"...ave me alone."

"Hmm?" Aso leaned forward to the child-sized lump.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" a high-pitched hysterical shriek made them both recoil, then the "cocoon" trembled and muffled sobbing tugged at the most painful heartstrings. "I-I... I don't want... anything. Just... go away!"

Kyoko and Aso exchanged concerned looks, fully realizing their utter defeat this evening as well. They hadn't yet got even a single victory as the bridge connecting them to little Ryoken's heart, the link they were so desperately trying to build was blown away over and over again by the storm that was the child's fury and self-flagellation.

"Alright," it took so much of Kyoko's willpower to curve her lips into a soft smile as she dared to pat what was assumingly Ryoken's head. "Have a good night. If you need something..."

"No," came a low, almost non-childish grumble. "Please go."

"Goodnight then," Aso put his hand on Kyoko's shoulder, reasonably not expecting a reply as there was none anyway.

They turned off the light and headed out of the room, leaving Ryoken all alone in the darkness he so obviously found at least some comfort in. Pure moonlight was pouring down on his tiny frame still wrapped from head to toes in his blanket... and for some reason the sight reminded both Aso and Kyoko about a cerement. The two simultaneously felt shivers running down their spine, so they hurried outside.

"What in the world are we supposed to do..?" Aso spoke after an eternity of grim silence, when his heart was no longer in a rabid pace.

"Give him time," Kyoko answered, curling her hands in fists as she looked to the side with her eyes so tired and hopeless. "The wound is still too fresh. Don't expect it to heal so soon."

"There is a burden on his heart," Aso leaned against the nearest wall, his body as if turned wooden from all physical and emotional exhaustion. "But he chooses to carry it himself. Even if it's way too heavy for him."

"It's his choice." Kyoko bit her lips. 

"But he is only a child..."

"I know. We are still here though. If he won't let us place his burden on our own shoulders, then at least we can be there and not let him get crushed by it."

There was a thick silence afterwards. Endless minutes filled with everything but relief and serenity.

"I wonder," Aso's voice sounded unnaturally loud, echoing along the long dimly lighted corridor, "if we never agreed to assist Dr. Kogami, would he still carry out this atrocious experiment..?"

"Does it really matter _now_?" Kyoko glared, barely holding back her own inner self-hatred and regret. "There is nothing we can do about it. We cannot go back and tell our past selves _not_ to engage with Sensei. ...Especially if it was own choice to get involved with something we considered to be "brighter future for mankind", no jokes."

"Brighter monstrocity, you meant to say..." Aso pressed his palm against his eyes, hiding from the entire world condemning them for the unforgivable they commited by their own volition.

Suddenly there were warm hands on his shoulders on the man's shoulders. When he found courage to reveal his eyes to the world all over again he found that there already was a couple of deep grey eyes, softly meeting his. Those eyes reflected all the depth and atrocity of his own sin and guilt. And yet in those grey eyes he found a boundless, all-embracing feeling of empathy, comfort and... warmth. A simple gentle warmth Aso couldn't even remember as it had been way a long time since he felt something akin to that.

"There is nothing we can do about that anymore," Kyoko said, smiling at him, though he could notice how awfully guilty she felt about this tiniest of smiles. "But what we can do is not let that boy fend for himself. He needs us more than he thinks he does."

"You make it sound so easy," Aso sighed helplessly.

"It isn't," Kyoko shared the mood. "But that what we got "married" for in the first place, right?"

"I guess..."

"Come on," the woman removed her hands from Aso's shoulders, leaving only the faint feeling of sunshine warmth as she allowed herself a bigger smile, "we weren't able to dine properly. The meal must be cold already. Let's go and heat it up, "darling"?"

"You're the worst," the corners of Aso's lips twitched, but he refrained from smiling back.

"Maybe?" Kyoko softly pushed his shoulder, holding back her own laugh.

They went on with their own evening, but not without checking on Ryoken first and foremost. Exhausted, the boy had already fell asleep. Kyoko gently, not to wake him, wiped moist traces off his face before planting a lullaby kiss on his cheek. Aso adjusted pillows so that it would be more comfortable for the kid to rest and left but not without wishing him a calm, devoid of nightmares sleep.

_~~~_

"Huh?" Kyoko was a bit startled when something brushed against her cheek out of the purest blue, moreso when it turned out to be a bouquet of red roses.

"Today is our second "anniversary", forgot?" Aso sit next to her on top of a hill, overlooking a river bank.

"Whoa, what a strange occurrence," the woman chuckled, having accepted the flowers. " _You_ haven't forgot."

"How could I forget something like that?" her "husband" frowned a bit, watching two boys running around near the river, blowing dandelion puff onto each other.

Yes, they became "happy parents" of _two_ children.

A boy who stubbornly insisted on being called "Spectre" joined them about a year ago... one of the very same kids who happened to be victims of the terrible crime they commited in the past. It was beyond their comprehension though how and why did this child return to them. They did know that the boy was an orphan, but... how in the world does that work? And the orphanage was all too eager to let them take the kid... as if they wanted to get rid of him?

Whatever the reason was, it was still the most incomprehensible idea to have this child, the one they had blatantly  _tortured_ , live with them... even if the boy was the weirdest case they had ever seen for reasons they were too uncomfortable to think about.

After all... what kind of a kid who used to have a good life prior to being kidnapped would enjoy all the torture he had been put through?

"Heeeey, Aso-san!" 

But there they were, happily laughing and running up to them.

Ryoken was smiling as brightly as if he was emitting sun rays right there and then while holding the younger boy's hand, basically dragging the latter.

"Hey, what's up?" Aso couldn't help smiling and ruffling either's hair as the two ran up to him with armfuls of white dandelions.

Ryoken and Spectre exchanged a weird glance, grinning as if they were little mischievious imps straight from fairytale books, and simultaneously blew up the said dandelions puff right in the man's face.

"Oh my," Kyoko puffed her cheeks, swallowing a giggle as the two boys ran back, sniggering, down the hill to shift their attention to Genome who was quietly fishing. "Take it as a good-luck charm."

"I've already got plenty," Aso spat some puff as Genome who was chosen as another unsuspecting "victim" of the playful "imps" swiftly avoided the "attack", making the two rascals fall into the water with a rather loud splash.

"Is that so?" Kyoko tried to look as carefree as possible, sideeyeing both Ryoken and Spectre coming out of the water, laughing even louder than before.

Watching them goofing around with Genome, the woman took a deep breath of fresh spring air and then looked up at the sky.

"You know..." she said in a strange, disembodied voice that totally contradicted her peaceful smile. "Sometimes I really wonder what my actual marital status is."

"Huh?" Aso looked at her.

"What?" Kyoko gave him a shy smile as she wrapped her arms around her knees, resembling a young inexperienced girl. "Don't you have family that with each passing year of your adulthood nag you with "When are you gonna commit yourself to someone, dear?" question and stuff like that. It's so tiring."

"Oh. Yeah, relatable."

Aso could understand her all too well. His own relatives seemed fixated on him being a bachelor as if it was some issue that caused them discomfort.

"It's kinda bad that I have to lie," Kyoko's eyes were downcast as she nervously chuckled. "I always tell them that I'm fully concentrated on my work and not ready to tie a knot just yet... I wonder how would they react if they learned I already have a husband and two children?"

There was no proper answer Aso could provide. He had a hard time realizing whether he was single or married either. There wasn't much time for him to flirt around, and yet some occasional women he met whenever he attented bars (he quickly became used to such "relaxation" after _those_ experiments) were always ready to offer him some fun. Apparently Aso seemed like a perfect hook up match in those ladies' opinion, and he had all rights to accept their "invitations", but...

"You are my wife," he sighed. "It can't be helped."

Kyoko turned red the moment it slipped out of his mouth, but for some reason Aso felt no regret over saying that.

It seems that the role of a "faithful husband" became deeply rooted into his subconscious without him fully realizing it. After all, he rejected every single one of those women because...

" _What would Kyoko say?_ "

...he thought of his "wife" first and foremost.

"Yeah, she's your wife, and yet you two had no "first wedding night" so far!"

Kyoko and Aso both shuddered as Genome appeared before their faces literally out of nowhere. Spectre and Ryoken, all dripping wet from their last mischief, were giggling behind his back.

"You..." Kyoko uttered in a low threatening voice, not sure if it was because Genome brought up something highly inappropriate in front of children or because the said children were still drenched to their bones; before Genome could tell anything more, he was roughly slapped in the face with towels and children's spare clothes. "You have something _way_ more important to worry about!"

Genome cackled, but obeyed as he had no desire to become a victim of Kyoko's righteous fury.

"There," the woman sighed with relief as the trio went away. "Anyway," she granted Aso an awkward smile, "I hope my over-worried parents won't start talking about omiai.*"

Suddenly, something painful thumped inside Aso's chest, forcing him to hold his breath and his hands curl into fists.

"Hey," Kyoko noticed that as well as his pallidness. "Are you okay?"

The man counted to three in his thoughts, trying to calm down this instant.

"Well," he said, not entirely realizing sounds that were coming out of his mouth; he was more concentrated on how dry his throat got all of a sudden, "this is your life and freedom. Our marriage is fictive anyway."

He said what was fact, and yet the unexplainable stiffness within his ribcage refused to go away.

Kyoko's prolonged silence was not helping either.

"It is..." so when she finally spoke, Aso got a bit startled. "We're free to do whatever. That's what free will is all about."

Some invisible hand as if grabbed Aso's heart, squeezing it with its deadly cold fingers.

"Oh?" Kyoko looked up at the sky once again. "It's getting more and more cloudy. Gonna rain soon, huh?"

The man blinked, shooing away all his weird feelings.

"A-ah, right. I think we should be going," he refused to look at his "wife".

And it rained indeed. Downpour struck the city just as their weird "family" was going home. Genome happened to be the only one who thought about taking an umbrella, so kids hid underneath it, clinging onto their "uncle" while Kyoko and Aso were forced to seek shelter under the man's jacket.

"But you know what?" suddenly, Kyoko spoke loud enough to outvoice the rain.

"What?" Aso was more occupied with watching their step so that they wouldn't slip on puddles as they ran, but what Kyoko said next made his heart go even quicker.

"Even though our marriage is fictive, I still greatly appreciate it!"

It made rain disappear from Aso's own personal universe as it was replaced with sunshine that reflected in his smile as well.

_~~~_

"Ryoken- _sama_ , at this rate I'm gonna abandon my role as your subordinate and actually act as your guardian," Kyoko glared at young Kogami, realizing that she had a right to. "Moreso, I'm gonna use my privilege as your "mom" and kick your ass!"

Genome and Aso were standing behind her back. The first was literally sweating as he struggled to refrain from a good thunderous laugh whereas the latter's face was simply redder than the ripest tomatoes.

"You're overreacting," Ryoken honestly strived to hide his smug expression, but failed, resulting in having the most bizarrely distorted face; it was much easier with Spectre who was still in the older boy's embrace as he buried his face against his master's shoulder.

"Kyoko-san..." Spectre tried his best to conceal his muffled giggles, but no luck.

"Don't "Kyoko-san" me here!" the woman struggled not to raise her voice as she hated being hysterical.

It was rather hard to keep her cool in this situation, though.

Every parent (Kyoko was already so used to her role as those two's "mother") would feel this explosive mixture of embarrassment, anger and shock at the sight of their children french-kissing. Especially if those "children" hid on a balcony on purpose. Kyoko developed some sort of premonition, a "radar" you may say, whenever "children" were up for something weird. And by "weird" Kyoko understood the inevitable instances of every teen's behavior that would end up dictated by hormones rather than brains.

Aso was standing there petrified. No, he was well aware that different kinds of sexuality was a thing, moreso he was never against people whose sexual preferences were different than his own... it's just seeing the two "kids" whom he always considered to be more of brothers to each other acting as outright lovers caused him a cognitive dissonance. Aso was simply unable to pick his words right, deep inside kinda regretting that he left Kyoko deal with the situation on her own. Yes, on her own as Genome was not helping in any way.

"Come on," Genome, who actually had some history of same-sex relationships of his own, peacefully patted Kyoko's shoulder. "Don't get so worked up. They haven't fucked yet, I suppose?"

The woman's face turned dangerously red in a matter of a second.

"You..." she hissed akin to a kettle that was about to boil. "Go.To. Your. Rooms. Now."

"Kyoko-sa..." Ryoken dared to show resistance.

"NOW!"

Her voice echoed throughout the entire house, so the said resistance was all but futile.

"Where do you think _you_ are going?" Kyoko squinted at Genome who was then leaving along with boys.

"I'll put each of them to bed and read a story," the man waved at her, not even looking back. "Don't worry, G rated stuff."

Tips of Kyoko's ears were still pink when the door closed behind smugly smirking Genome, leaving her and Aso tete-a-tete.

" _Ugh..._ " the woman groaned and flopped down on the nearest chair.

"Are you okay?" Aso voiced probably the stupidest thing in existence as he watched Kyoko put her fingers on both of her temples, massaging them thoroughly.

"Wouldn't mind some tea," she sighed wearily as the deep shade of crimson on her face was gradually fading.

"Hold on a moment."

About only a few minutes later Aso came back with a big cup of hot steamy drink.

"Oh," she smiled a bit meekly. "Is that camomile I smell?"

"I know it calms you down greatly," the man affirmed, sitting on a chair in front of hers.

"You sure know what I need."

These words made Aso feel warm inside. He heard them so many times ever since they got "married" and every time he saw sincere gratitude in her shiny eyes, her soft smile, he felt his spirits lifting, no, goddamn skyrocketing. With every new passing year Aso felt his inspiration to do something for Kyoko grow stronger. There was this _huge_ sense of satisfaction whenever he managed to make her smile, he had never experienced this amount of a simple happiness in his entire life.

"They grow up way too fast," and a painful tingle to his heart was Kyoko's saddened expression.

Kyoko didn't say anything more, but Aso needed no more words to figure out that there was so much more behind this statement.

Ryoken and Spectre developing physically and acting like normal teens as they were experimenting and catering to their raging hormones was only a tip of the much larger iceberg called "premature turning into adults".

"Say..." Kyoko spoke quietly as if she was a condemned criminal. "Do you think that was the best decision?"

Her gaze was directed towards the ever-closed door. The door that Ryoken allowed no one but himself go through. The door where the aggravating circumstance of their sin was being kept and guarded akin to a treasure.

Their attempt at contemporary necromancy aka Dr. Kogami's lifeless body but with a very lively brain.

"I don't know..." Aso honestly shook his head.

About ninety eight percent of his brain cells and ninety nine percent of his restless heart were reprehending, cursing him for ever agreeing to do such a thing. As if the weight of his sin wasn't already great enough on his shoulders, but no, he dared to add more. The deed the three of them commited added more eternities to their future, already with no right to appeal stay in Hell.

"We should have never done this," Kyoko dug her nails into her knees, but what kind of pathetic was this pain in comparison to the one that tore her heart every day?

Aso had no words to manage a reasonable answer.

There was no one who could understand better that literally raising a warrior child was beyond morally right. It was worse than amoral as children must never carry burdens of their family's crimes... even if the said children cherished their parents above everything else. Sure, they managed to bring at least a ghost of a smile back on Ryoken's face, but wasn't the price too high? Was it really worth if the result made young Kogami step on this extremely shady and thorny path of a young criminal? Leading the Knights of Hanoi, a  _cyber terrorist_ group, at the mere age of thirteen was a gigantic cross, an incurable wound to Ryoken's already fragile soul... so him possibly already fucking Spectre at sixteen was not the worst thing that could happen.

"We cannot turn back now," Aso curled his hands into fists, clenching them to the point of pain, but what pain could be on par with the one tormenting his very being at his every breath?

Being obligated to fight the Ignis? Wipe away from existence the evidence of their fatal mistake? Destroy monsters they created with their own hands before they destroy humanity?

Still, what a lame excuse to ruin these children's lives.

Even if Ryoken felt like he was bound by the red thread of love that connected him and his father even in "death".

Even if Spectre felt like the red thread of love that connected him to Ryoken was the best thing he ever had in his life.

Even if those red strings coiled around neck, creating nooses. Nooses that kept crushing their necks, but they, goddamn adults, couldn't just cut them to release those kids as those nooses were the only thing that prevented from falling to their death into the darkest abyss of despair.

Letting those fend for themselves always sounded like a better plan than placing more burden on their yet fragile conscience... 

Lies.

This terrifying cross was crushing Aso's and Kyoko's shoulders, the depth of their crimes kept growing, making their heads spinning, causing them chronic nausea, and yet they could never abandon those stupid boys... even if their stupidity was a product of adults who didn't know better themselves. No matter how much they loved those kids from the bottom of their hearts, nothing could serve as an enough of excuse for pushing them further into darkness.

Not even the heaviest steel chains could hold them back from self-destruction. And before the stupid adults who were supposed to care about those kids knew that, it was already too late.

Radiating pain in his chest replaced every other feeling Aso could realize when he saw tears rolling down Kyoko's already pallid cheeks.

And he knew that tears wouldn't help her own pain go away.

If anything, tears were useless, and yet Kyoko was unable to hold them in.

And he could only move closer, pull her tighter towards him and, leaning his chin down on top of her head, wrap her totally in his embrace. Kyoko's pain was overwhelming, filling her up to the brim with bitter poison, so by holding her as tight as he could Aso hoped, prayed that he could take at least the tiniest bit of this suffering.

" _In Joy And In Sorrow"_ was a part of the vow the two of them made on that fateful day.

Even if their marriage was fictive, Aso still cherished the oath.

Scoundrels like them never deserved Joy... but at least he was still there with his "wife" to share Sorrow.

The  neverending Sorrow that was far worse than Hell.

_~~~_

Aso's rational side was utterly terrified, his emotions flooded his consciousness with burning acid. He was standing there, frozen, dead inside, having no strength to clench his fists, grimace in pain or even shed a tear.

He was standing there, silently staring at the boy he raised... at the Knights of Hanoi's leader who knew no mercy.

Not even towards the woman who became like a mother to him during all these years.

Despite that though Kyoko was still lying in that coffin. Comatose.

"That was her decision," Ryoken, no, Revolver of Hanoi said in a firm, unnaturally cold voice.

And Aso despite knowing this child for ages couldn't tell if there was the tiniest drop of regret in his mind.

But then Aso scolded his own inner self for being such an insensitive bastard as he knew, knew perfectly well that the boy behind this mask of potentially the worst cyber terrorist in history must have been swallowing tears, not allowing them even in his thoughts as he sent his "mother" to oblivion.

Boys never cry after all.

The Knights of Hanoi's leaders even moreso.

Heart was ripping apart anyway as Aso had his eyes glued to his "wife"s motionless silhouette in that coffin. He realized that it was her own decision to try and go against their plan _once._ Aso realized that innocent people caught into the deadly trap of Another's virus never deserved their fate... and Aso knew better than anyone how much of a pressure that was on Kyoko's conscience.

Aso was certain that Ryoken behind this emotionless mask (the man always wondered if this was the reason behind designing his avatar to look that way), this boy who was forced to grow up so early felt the same way.

That's why... Aso could never hate Ryoken.

"I know," suddenly, Hanoi's leader turned back to look at him, his unreadable gaze pierced the man right through his heart. "I know how much she means to you. I'm sorry."

 _Exposed_.

There was no reason to hide it anymore, not even from himself that Aso grew quite attached to Kyoko... at times forgetting that he was not truly her husband.

Looking at both her and Genome who met the same fate, Aso clearly felt the difference. Genome was his friend his comrade, almost like a relative but still rather distant... unlike her. Aso was already to tired of being in denial that Kyoko became someone a little more than everything Genome was to him...

Because in the face of inevitable demise Kyoko was the only one whose lips Aso regretted never kissing.

"It's alright, Revolver-sama," Aso, no, Faust of Hanoi lied.

He was a criminal.

So his feelings never mattered.

He was all but ready to meet his own demise... his only solace was that he and Kyoko would end up in Hell together.

_~~~_

When Ryoken was about to peek in the room at 4:35 AM he already expected to see pale bluish light and hear keyboard clicking. That's why he wasn't surprised finding Aso working all by himself.

"Hey," Ryoken was neither surprised when the man didn't immediately notice him sitting down on a chair right next to him.

"Oh, Ryoken-sama," Aso's eyes kept skimming through the already written lines of a code, hundreds and hundreds of them. "Isn't it very late? Come back to sleep."

"That's what I should be telling you," Ryoken reached out the back of his hand and touched a cup with already icy cold tea, frowning. "Damn, someone seems to completely fall out of the normal space-time continuum. When was the last time you looked at the clock?"

"You stay up till 1 AM as well," still not looking at young Kogami, Aso took a sip of his already cold drink. "I guess we're even here."

"At least I get a little more than three hours of sleep..."

Ryoken was not joking about how worried he was. Sure, as the leader of Hanoi, even after their initial plan with Tower failed, he kept working hard as his father's death had only strengthened his resolve, and yet Ryoken never saw a man more in need of a break than Aso-san.

"I'm okay," the man said in a blatantly exhausted and, thus, horrifyingly robotic voice. "Please, go back to sleep. You need a proper rest."

Ryoken only rolled his eyes in response.

This man here had the worst bags under his eyes, the weariest pallid face, bloodshot eyes, and yet he kept on insisting that _Ryoken_ needed sleep more? But as young Kogami threw a glance at what the hell Aso had been working on so thoroughly it all became clear as if daylight poured into the room, chasing away night in a matter of a second.

"You're..." Ryoken recognized the algorithm right away. "The masking program?"

They both knew what they meant.

If they were to get Kyoko out of her prison without any trouble, they _needed_ some means of deceiving its security system effectively.

"Yes," Aso confirmed. "This way we are gonna be able to bypass guards. Dummy security camera footages are going to buy us plenty of time."

"How much?"

"Cannot say exactly at the moment, I'm aiming for twenty minutes at least."

"Hoh," Ryoken couldn't help grinning for a moment or two. "I guess they shouldn't mess with you when it's so personal, huh?"

Aso's fingers froze at the keyboard.

"What?" he gave young Kogami the most absent-minded look in history of absent-minded looks.

"Like I said before," Ryoken's metal blue eyes had no spark of a joke as he almost stared into the man's very soul, "I know how much she means to you. She does to all of us. Don't you worry, we _will_ get her out."

"Ryoken-sama..."

"They don't mess with your "precious wife", or else," he puffed his cheeks, swallowing his thunderous laugh at the last second... and at this very moment Aso could have sworn his mind froze in shock.

 _He had no idea Ryoken resembled Kyoko this much_.

"You have exactly ten minutes to finish whatever you had been doing and save the progress," young Kogami shrugged. "Afterwards I fully expect you to be in bed. As of now, I'll make you some hot milk. It helps to sleep."

"Personally tested?" Aso smiled at the warm memories as it was he and Kyoko who taught him that. "And I assume this is an order, sir?"

"It is," Ryoken played along, yawning demonstratively. "So get your ass typing faster and finish this up already, I wanna sleep too, you know."

Aso chuckled and could not defy.

_~~~_

"Okaaaay," Genome yawned, leaning back in his chair and stretching his arms and legs. "I'm done for today."

" _Again?_ " Kyoko frowned; she was getting really annoyed at him for being so laid-back, especially at times like these when they had to be on guard almost 24/7. "I can't believe what a lazy ass you are."

"Didn't twelve years of being acquainted with me teach you any of my habits?" Genome carelessly shrugged as he closed his laptop. "I put all my efforts in each and every second of my work, but when the time is up, it's up. I don't make rules, my tired organism does."

"Then do us a favour," visibly irritated, Aso was forced to re-do what he was doing as Genome's blabbering distracted him. "Go away."

"Someone hasn't been getting enough rest again?" Genome sighed. "Easy there, I'm going now. Good night to you both."

He left the room with his nose in the air as if he was just "kindly" kicked out by a couple of exhausted, easily to annoy workaholics. It was almost 1 AM, so it was their choice to stay up for at least an hour and a half, he, Genome, was still sane enough to know when to rest.

As soon as the door behind him closed though Kyoko rubbed her own eyes.

"Should we finish everything up for today as well?" Aso immediately reacted.

"Nah, a couple more cups should help," Kyoko got up and headed towards coffee machine.

"At this point we are no better than drug addicts," Aso smiled sadly.

Kyoko gave him a cup, and then they sat in total silence for several minutes, slowly sipping the bitter drink which was still no match for the bitterness of their thoughts. The silence was growing heavier with each passing second, making Kyoko chuckle quietly, catching Aso's attention, but she brushed it off as it was nothing more than her imagination that transformed this silence into a chocolate cake ready to be cut; yeah, so thick this silence was from Kyoko's point of view.

"Are you okay?" Aso blurted out unexpectedly even for himself.

"Hmm?" Kyoko blinked, suddenly looking way younger than thirty, more like an eighteen year old girl whose life never took a sharp turn. "Is my giggling making you uncomfortable?"

"N-no," the man coughed. "I meant to say, it hasn't even been a week since we got you out of..."

He instantly felt like biting his own tongue.

Why the heck was he bringing up something that could potentially upset Kyoko? It's not like they picked her up after a walk in a park.

"Jail?" and yet she tittered. "Thanks, I'm okay. Though..."

She dropped her gaze, looking at her eyes reflected in her drink. Her fingers clung onto the cup's yet warm ceramic, but it failed to make her feel any better.

"I wonder if that really was a good decision to set me free? Wasn't rotting behind those bars what I deserved? I _am_ a criminal... and me facing punishment would have been a logical closure."

She needed a moment before she was able to face Aso again, barely covering guilt behind her smile.

"I'm sorry, this is so selfish of me. You went through a lot to get me out."

"Kyoko..." Aso wanted to shook his head, but the woman interrupted him.

"I know. Ryoken told me everything. How you kept being up late, how much coffee and smokes you abused. You have contributed the most into my escape plan... not caring how difficult it was for you."

Before Aso could blink Kyoko's chair moved with a quiet creak. Before he knew it the woman's arms wrapped his shoulders.

"Thank you," Kyoko's gentle voice was right above his head as she buried her face into his hair, nuzzling. "Really. Thank you so much."

"Please," Aso immediately felt like dying of red hot awkwardness; Kyoko's warmth and affection surrounded him, filled his soul with light, chasing away night shadows, and the flowery scent of her perfume was the sweetest of all. "You don't have to..."

"But I want to. You have always been there for me. Haha... At this point I can't imagine not seeing you for more than half of a day. No wonder why my confinement did feel so weird after all."

Aso felt strange yet somehow pleasant tingle in his chest as it definitely seemed like Kyoko's arms found that the most comfortable and dear thing they would embrace was him. His heartbeat grew immensely intense as he felt her warm breath against his skin, almost caressing his cheek... just before her soft lips sealed affirmation of her feelings.

So simple yet lovable and intimate.

"It's..." Aso was left utterly helpless now. 

"I know our lives could have turned out much, much better," Kyoko cuddled him, "but I don't regret anything I have now. Our family that is the weirdest of all... Both of our too goddamn grown-ass "children"... Having you as my husband."

" _Fictive_ husband," Aso reminded but not without a smile.

"Whatever," Kyoko messed his hair.

He smirked and caught her wrist, bringing her hand closer to press a kiss onto its back.

He realized just as much how cursed their lives turned out to be. They as criminals and sinners didn't deserve an ounce of happiness... but they kept trying to grab its tail nevertheless.

**Author's Note:**

> *Omiai (お見合い) is a Japanese traditional custom in which a woman and a man are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage.


End file.
